Andy Bowie Park - South Padre Island

Go to SPI if for no other reason than to eat fried shrimp at Dirty Al's

23hotrodr wrote:
We thought a trip to SPI would be great, but now, we may just skip it. We can find most everything there at much better sounding places.

I don't know if you've been to SPI other times (not camping), but the beach and water are vastly prettier in South Padre than in north Padre. Still nothing like the Gulf Coast in Florida, but in SPI, the water can actually look blue and the sand can actually look kind of white. In north Padre, you get brown water and brown sand.

I'm not sure about the hypodermic syringes and other medical debris that washes up. I've seen it in Port Aransas (and was warned by the woman at the campground not to step on the big tufts of seaweed because you don't know what's in there), but I didn't see it in SPI, although I was there for only about six weeks.

If you have a toad, back off of being so close to Padre about 15-20 mins. Find another CG that isn't a parking lot. :)

Thanks for the responses. They are greatly appreciated.

After a lot of research, We have to say we are very disappointed in what we have found for RV Parks at SPI! We are seriously reconsidering a visit there at all. I grew up in an area with lots of stickers and cannot stand them! They get everywhere, including the rig.

We've been to North Padre Island a few times and love it. The camping is great and nothing like how SPI sounds. We thought a trip to SPI would be great, but now, we may just skip it. We can find most everything there at much better sounding places.

Thanks again for the info. -- Mick

We just left SPI last week. We stayed at Isle Blanca park. Most sites were fairly spaced but there are some tight ones. It also has stickers everywhere.

The KOA is nothing special unless you want to have a community hot tub.

I would not stay at Andy Bowie as it is a parking lot. We drove thru it in our toad and I remember thinking getting the motorhome in there would be doable but not something I would want to try unless nothing else was available.

As others have mentioned unless you enjoy craziness don't go during Spring Break.

Do eat at Dirty Al's. IMO the best seafood on the island.

Here's a photo of part of Andy Bowie park:



That's my 40-foot moho in the foreground on the left. There isn't room to park the toad in front, so it goes on the side and yes, it's tight.

Wait--I read the reviews, and you mean literally "get into" the park, not just whether you'll fit. I recall that the entrance was indeed squeezy and not fun, but I did it in that beast. You should unhook the toad in Port Isabel on your way in, to give you more maneuverability.

All that said, as you can see from the photo, it's a pretty grim place, and there are ungodly stickers everywhere.

Andy Bowie Park is an asphalt parking lot. There were lots of rigs there when we were on SPI in January 2017. Personally I wouldn't want to camp there. On the other hand, if you're comfortable backing your rig into a tight lined parking lot.... The campground is across from the convention center/Birding Center area as well as across the dunes from the beach. We stayed at the KOA, but I think rather than Andy Bowie, I'd rather be at Isla Blanca. Good luck & enjoy! Here's my blog post on 17 Fun Things to do on SPI --

I wouldn't plan anything for the month of March -- stories from the island are terrifying for spring break ... unless you're looking for spring break craziness!

17 Fun Things To Do On South Padre Island

Enjoy your trip!